Monday, April 27, 2009

Netflix just suggested I get Last Chance Harvey. Not an awful movie, but awfully predictable. The tone was similar to Rachel Getting Married, where a family member is on a different wavelength. I think Last Chance Harvey was better than RGM but I still didn't really enjoy seeing either. I thought Dustin Hoffman was much better in I (heart) Huckabee's, and other than that I can't say anything, because I am one of the only people I know who liked that movie.

I don't get what is up with these redemption movies. It reminds me of the morality movies like Days of Wine and Roses without the consequences.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Guy Woodhouse, my single speed mountain bike, has been taken apart for a few weeks now. And this next two weeks will involve repainting and reassembling the little demon.

I'm gathering the new components and tidying up the old ones I'll carry over. Some of the parts were pretty rugged when I bought the bike.

I've been on the lookout for Phil Wood hubs for about a year. Every morning running the familiar search on Craigslist. I even asked how much a new one would cost. I already have mentioned the one I found. And Shannon is going to lace a new wheel around that. So today we stopped by the shop to get a rim and spokes. And Jim had just put a slice of delicious looking pizza on a paper plate.

Which brings us to the equation for retail business:

pie=r(squared)

if you buy a pizza business will come in the door, preventing you from eating the pizza.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

A couple weeks ago I changed the tires on Frenchie. Since Sir Walter died this spring the SBR has been swollen with new components. Not that most the parts were brand new, it's that the parts were new to the reserve. Including a pair of brand new Panaracer tires, I've been putting the same Continental Ultra Sports on the bike since 1999 (a tire I don't think they even make anymore...) and have worn quite thin.

So I put the new tires on, and they are awesome, except that they are slightly wider than the continentals. So I rode home from work the first day with a millimeter of fender clearance. It was like riding with a break on every time I needed to push it. When I got home, two seconds with a vise grip fixed a problem I have been too lazy to fix for three years.

Then last Monday we went to Redwing and biked to Cannon Falls.

reviewing the list of original parts on the 1972 Peugeot UO8 I ride:

-frame

-fork

-threaded headset

-quill stem

-bottom bracket cups

-seat post

-brake cable guide

-seat post bolt and nut

I still have the original rear wheel, but in storage. Nothing too impressive and I don't much care for the wavy lines.

The seat post bolt is breaking I think. I could not get the seat to stay. Every mile or so it would sink about a quarter inch. But I had already used my spare seat bolt on another bike, and had not replaced the one I keep ziptied to my rack! damn and blast!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Sword of Doom has more plok points, but this is an entertaining movie for different reasons.

The netflix synopsis was clearly written by someone who never watched the movie. I think the tone and character are closer to The Big Sleep than the Seven Samurai. The movie was so noir Bogart or Robinson should have shown up.

The treatment of evil is better than Pulp Fiction. The premise of Jules' argument was a fallacy and it has always grated on my nerves. The message here was similar but much more successful. The multiple narratives and perspectives on purpose is a theme I like though. Shorter and faster paced than most of Kurosawa's movies, Okamoto's movie Kill! has a nice variety of dialogue and violence.

Given the choice between watching For your Consideration and stabbing myself in the arm with a fork though; tines aren't that painful, I suggest a salad fork. Best In Show and A Mighty Wind were better, and they weren't great. The trailer had been so promising but the actual film was so tedious we almost turned it off half-way through. I don't think I have a single nice thing to say about it.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

A while back I bought an early ninties Miyata mountain bike and almost immediately put studded tires on it. I bought it second hand and slightly rusty. I wanted a single speed bike for the winter becasue I didn't want any messy mechanical snafu on my commutes home.

So now the weather is getting springier, so it is time to give Guy Woodhouse a makeover.

trouble is, getting the rusty bits to budge.

It took 45 minutes just to knock the cranks off and remove one cup from the bottom bracket.